2018 Annual Report

Transitions Our Executive Director Susan Davies (fourth from right) was named a “Woman of Influence” in 2018. 2018 was a year of transition for TOSC. Our Program for trails, parks and open space and bring a fresh Director Vince Cloward left us for a Nature Conservancy perspective to addressing the challenges of underfunded position close to family in California. His departure gave parks and the need for addressing gaps in our trail system. us the opportunity to reevaluate staff needs in light of our Our “Bike Guy,” Allen Beauchamp, completed a successful new strategic plan completed in 2018. As a result, we project in southeast Colorado Springs connecting promoted Eileen Healy to Deputy Director, to oversee residents to neighborhood trails and parks. GIS Expert and operations, grants and fundraising. We hired Aaron Rogers Ring the Peak Project Coordinator Mike Rigney continues as Program/Events Coordinator and Sharie Dodge as our to produce fabulous maps that help tell our story to the Office Coordinator. Aaron andShari e share TOSC’s passion communi ty. Looking to the Future Our Staff and Board are laying the groundwork for an traction among partners and elected officials. The tax intensive community outreach effort in 2019 and 2020. sunsets in 2025. Reauthorizing and expanding TOPS could People live here for our incredible parks, trails and open ensure the sustainability of parks funding for a spaces, but few understand what it costs to take care of generation. 2021–Colorado Springs' sesquicentennial-- them and where we’re falling short. It’s time to take the might provide the perfect time to pass an expanded TOPS. story of inadequate funding to the people, help them If Denver can pass a .25 tax for parks, trails and open understand what’s at stake and agree upon a solution. spaces as they did in November – why not Colorado Extending and increasing the TOPS Program is gaining Springs? Ring the Peak Closing the Gap After more than a year of meetings, field work and achieved through compromise. On the one hand, a higher, research, a plan for completing the Ring the Peak Trail is more wilderness experience trail was ruled out due to nearing completion. The Trails and Open Space Coalition potential impacts to a unique population of bighorn sheep received a grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) and concerns over the security of water supplies. On the in late 2016 and hired N.E.S., Inc. to assist in developing other hand, a scenic, challenging route on the eastern a plan to complete the Ring. N.E.S. and their team got edge of the “gap” was identified that will be a destination to work organizing community meetings, consulting in itself. TOSC will continue to shepherd the process. Next with land managers, and meeting with private land steps include fostering an advisory board to focus on owners to discuss options for trail alignments and fundraising plans and interagency management management strategies. After many discussions with agreements, which will need to be in place for plan stakeholders and agencies, the team developed a implementation. We can’t thank Chris Lieber of N.E.S and route and achieved consensus. his team enough for their wise leadership in this long Like most major planning endeavors, consensus was process. Making Connections The 2017 Colorado Springs Health Foundation Biking take part in family-friendly rides and events, including Connections grant was a successful evolution and built a taking City Councilwoman Yolanda Avila out for a bike foundation for further cooperation. We realized going into tour, highlighting the connectivity that the Sand Creek the grant effort that there was not a high level of Trail allows to multiple parks from the very accessible community support for bike activities in the southeast of Southeast YMCA. Colorado Springs. Working alongside our partners, we Being able to activate this very impor tant facility that runs engaged the RISE Coalition and other civic leaders through the heart of SECOS was eye opening for many of throughout the community and built a level of trust that the community members who never realized that it is culminated in the Trails and Open Space Coalition and connected from Hancock Expressway to Airport Road. One Bike Colorado Springs being valued as a true partner in of the follow-on success points is that the Parks their community building work. Department now has a work order in for signage to be During our grant work, we crafted a number of installed in 2019 along its nearly 3-mile length. opportunities that saw over 100 community members Committees & Programs The Trails and Open Space Coalition works in part through fund of TOSC. Bike Colorado Springs, a program of TOSC, committees and program groups to achieve its mission. began as a coalition of bike-friendly groups under the Our newest committee is the fiscally-sponsored fund leadership of the Trails and Open Space Coalition, and Friends of Boulder Park. The Friends of Ute Valley Park is a now consists of several active committees dedicated to more established group that is also a fiscally-sponsored making Colorado Springs more bike friendly. Friends of Boulder Park Boulder Park is a neighborhood park on the city’s near concerns and helped them create “Friends of Boulder east side. Neighbors became frustrated with the condition Park.” TOSC is now their fiscal sponsor and will continue of their park and came to the Trails and Open Space to support them as they seek to reimagine their park, Coalition for help. Their main concerns: illegal smoking on raise funds to address some of the needs and work with the east side of the park and padlocked tennis and parks staff to get Boulder Park added to the priority basketball courts due to unsafe surface conditions. projects list. We met with them, devised a strategy to address their Bike Colorado Springs 2018 was a foundation-building year for Bike Colorado Springs as well as for the overall bicycle friendliness of our city. Throughout this past year BCS has been building relationships and support with City Staff and celebrating our successes throughout our community through social media and community rides. BCS helped our city’s new Bike Master Plan become reality which will shape bicycling in our city for the foreseeable future. In 2019, BCS will continue to further one of the Bike Master plan’s primary goals of “Creating Greater Support for Biking.” To reach this goal BCS will build a broader base of supporters with a focused branding initiative, continue to strengthen relationships with the City, and implement a membership program through a concerted outreach effort. Friends of Ute Valley Park 2018 was a very successful year for Ute Valley Park, a committee of the Trails and Open Space Coalition. Here are some of the highlights: 384.5 Volunteer hours helped improve the park. Removed 100 railroad ties from the Popes Valley entrance. Armored poor drainage sights in the newer TOPS property. $1 Million FEMA Fire Mitigation Grant awarded, implemented and nearly complete. A new Kiosk was added to the Ute Valley Trail parking lot, with the Mayor kicking off the event. Golden Hills entrance completion. Numerous rogue trails have been successfully closed. 2019 promises to be yet another stellar season with trail reroutes, rogue trail closures, fire mitigation and the ultimate goal; building new trails! Giving Back Progress in conservation is only possible with a true Estate, Cerberus Brewing Company, Bristol Brewing, Pikes coalition of individuals, organizations and businesses who Peak Roadrunners, Phelan Gardens and Kreuser Galleries. support it with time and dollars. We are deeply grateful to Our bike shop sponsors for the Starlight Spectacular made the companies, large and small, that help us in many it possible for us to put on a huge biking event for 1,000+ ways. Whether it be direct contributions, matching people—Ted’s Bicycles, Bicycle Village, CS Bike Shop, donations, sponsorships or in-kind donations, gifts from Criterium Bicycles, and Old Town Bike Shop. Other major our business partners are a large part of our success. We Starlight sponsors included Heuberger Subaru, Penrose St. celebrate the businesses that contributed in 2018. Major Francis, SRAM, the CS Cycling Club, Ent Credit Union, and business partners included Live Dream Colorado Real the Downtown Development Group. In 2017, we received a bequest from the estate of Judy put down rock. Many thanks to the volunteers and the Connally in honor of her son, Tucker, who passed away in City of Colorado Springs Parks Department, and to 1998. In 2018, we partnered with the Colorado AAA Tucker’s dad Jim, who joined us to work on the project Insurance company to do a work project around Tucker’s and thank the volunteers. memorial at the Edmondson Trailhead off Woodmen Thank you to the friends and families of Dr. Sean O'Donnell, Patricia Niehans Road. The volunteers pulled weeds, painted fences, and Auxier, Mary Davies, Nancy Lewis, Joe Craig, and Bob J. Miller for donating to dug out around the “Tucker’s Tie-In” memorial stone to the Trails and Open Space Coalition in memory of their loved ones. Financials The Trails and Open Space Coalition is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Each year, more than 80% of our expenses are used for funded by donations from more than a thousand programming. These figures are from pre-audit reports; individuals, including 100% support from our Board of for our audited numbers, see our website, where we post Directors. Businesses, organizations and foundations our IRS forms 990 each year, along with our annual contribute, and we make up the difference through reports.

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